


Veritas

by redpetaledfury



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: Babies, F/M, Faustus is possessive, Hilda just wants her own life, I hope, Rating May Change, Tags May Change, There Will Be Kink, Warnings May Change, Work In Progress, Zelda Spellman was not made for this shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-07 00:35:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16843597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redpetaledfury/pseuds/redpetaledfury
Summary: Post-season one fic about Zelda, the baby, Faustus, and the gang. (Basically just an excuse for me to write more Zelda/Faustus scenes, but we'll see where it goes!)





	Veritas

Her name was Verity, and she was both the light of Zelda’s life and the bane of her existence.

 _I mean, really_ , she thought to herself on numerous occasions. _I’m not made out for this sort of thing._

That “sort of thing” was child-rearing, specifically baby-rearing. When Sabrina had been younger, Hilda had been more than happy to do the heavy lifting. Zelda of course pitched in -- never let it be said that she was ever not useful! -- but Hilda took on the task with relish, and at the time Zelda had seen no reason to fight with her sister on the matter. After all, who would want such a thankless task?

Fast forward to now.

Zelda had always thought herself a strong-minded person, but the events of the past few weeks had given her cause to reexamine this characterization. It was three in the morning, and she was up walking with the baby, trying to get her to sleep. Perhaps, she considered ruefully, deliriously, what she had thought was strength was really just hardness, the kind of hardness that made a person inflexible, and now all this forced flexibility was taking her away from herself. She wasn’t quite sure _who_ she was anymore, and that was a very unsettling feeling.

No, she wasn’t made for this sort of thing.

But she was doing it anyway. She had chosen it, and she would see it through with the determination and zeal that she showed in every other aspect of her life.

She was Zelda Fiona Spellman, and she would not be defeated by a squalling infant.

The baby let out another wail, and she sighed. Hmm. That one was a high A note. It reminded her of a piece they had been doing in choir lately…

She began to hum, rocking the baby as she paced back and forth. The piece was an old one, newly arranged by a modern musician. Haunting and sad, it spoke of the pleasures to be found in the Dark Lord, and the great and terrible price of serving him.

As she hummed, the babe grew enchanted. Slowly, she dropped off to sleep.

Continuing to hum, Zelda stepped over to the cradle and lay the tiny child down. She took her seat in a chair nearby and used her foot to rock the cradle, continuing the familiar motion that had helped lull the child to sleep.

Verity. She had chosen that name deliberately, thinking of Constance, and Prudence, not wanting a name that ended in “-nce” or would be easily recognizable as being connected to the mother, but also feeling that the trend of naming babies after virtues really ought to be preserved. And besides… she knew the truth about this child would come out some day. Naming her “Verity” just seemed… well it seemed right, and proper, and correct, and Zelda always did what she felt was correct.

The hardest part of her life now would be ensuring that it came out at the proper time. It might be years before the secret could be told.

But soon, she could at least tell her niece. Zelda had kept it a secret from Sabrina for the first few weeks of birth; she did not trust her niece with the information, as she was taking classes from Faustus at the academy and might have let slip that her aunt had recently taken charge of a baby. The idea of there being two newborns in their coven at the same exact time might have sparked some questions from the High Priest.

No, best to give it a few weeks and then make the adoption known, and let the lies begin to spin.

She had already decided that Verity would be the orphaned child of a dear friend of hers, one she had met during her travels in Europe. If pressed, she might disclose that she owed this friend her life, and that taking care of her child was a fitting recompense after the friend had taken her own life.

Make it all very sad, she thought, and no one would want to dig too deeply into the details. After all, as most witches know: it does not do to dwell on grief, and forget to live.

She just prayed to the Dark Lord that Faustus would not ask too many questions, when he found out.

In the meantime, she had spelled the room to not emit noise (while also anchoring herself to the baby, so she would know when she was needed), and she had told Hilda and Ambrose what was happening. Hilda was too wrapped up in her own life right now to be of any help, and Ambrose, while well-intentioned, was busy with his duties at the academy. But she trusted Ambrose. He may be a bit of a screw-up, but she knew he would not say anything to his new benefactor.

Today was the day though. Today, she would greet Sabrina with baby in arms, ready with the whole story. And maybe Sabrina would want to help with this… this creature.

Dear Satan, she could only hope.

These last few weeks had been grueling, what with the baby and her classes at the academy and trying to make sure _no one knew_ , and it was amazing she was still sane.

Eventually, she drifted off to sleep, one foot still twitching in a half-hearted attempt to rock the baby, and dreamed of a day when she could sleep forever.

~~~

Zelda was packing up her things after class one day when the High Priest paid her a visit.

Seeing him enter the practice room made her heart sink. She hadn’t specifically been avoiding him, but he would probably see it that way. After all, she was Judas’s Night mother. She should have been there more.

She hadn’t been there more.

Luckily, she had it on good authority that Prudence had stepped in to take care of her brother, and from what she knew of the girl’s capabilities, she trusted that the babe had been fine.

“Father Blackwood,” she said in greeting, heading him off at the pass, “I’m glad you stopped by. I’ve been meaning to check in on Judas. How is he?”

“Oh, splendid,” said Faustus cheerily. “Prudence has been doting on the boy, and we’ve hired a nanny to tend his needs when she is unavailable. I must say, caring for a newborn is an arduous task.”

“Then I’m sure she’s well up to it,” said Zelda, packing a few more things into her bag. “Might I pay him a visit, sometime?”

“Actually, that is what I came to speak to you about,” said Faustus, looking around. “Perhaps we might… use your office?”

“Of course,” said Zelda, attempting to hide her trepidation. She had asked Hilda to look after the babe while she was gone, but her sister was expected back at the bookstore soon. And Hilda was getting much better about laying down boundaries, these days. Zelda would have to take over for her soon, or she might not have a babysitter to call on in the future, and that would be rather unfortunate.

Faustus followed her into her office, and she shut the door. “What can I help you with, Your Excellency?”

“Zelda,” he said, voice low and husky and then suddenly, his lips were on hers.

At first she was surprised, but, responding to the hand that had been dealt her, she soon returned his vigor with her own. They broke apart, coming up for air.

“Oh Zelda,” said Faustus, and she could honestly say she had never seen him act with so little control, “I’ve missed you. You’ve no idea what it’s cost me admit it, but I do.”

“Faustus,” she said, amazed by this declaration, so unlike him. “Oh Faustus, I’ve missed you too, I --”

“Why have you been so distant?” he asked, clearly trying to regain some semblance of control.

She blinked. “Well, I… I wanted to let you grieve in peace.”

Pain flashed through his eyes then, but he only said two words: “I see.” He drew back, staring at her forcefully, and then -- “Zelda, I needed you.”

Her heart caved. “Oh Faustus,” she said, embracing him tightly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

His fingers caressed her back lightly, possessively. “You’re his Night mother, Zelda,” he breathed in her ear. “Judas needs you too. I can’t be everything to him… and neither can Prudence.”

“I’ll visit every day,” she pledged, wanting to make him happy, scarcely hearing her own words. “If that would be all right?” She looked up at him, questioning.

He smiled down at her, in control again. “That would be perfect.”

~~~

Why in the seven hells had she agreed to such a thing?

Zelda teleported home, having assured Father Blackwood that she would come for a visit after classes the next day. Hilda met her with a scowl. “It’s about bloody time,” she hissed.

“Hilda I’m sorry, I had some things I needed to deal with,” said Zelda.

“Well you’d better get Sabrina to help with this wee one, because honestly Zelds, I’m not sure I’ll be able to do this again,” said Hilda.

Zelda’s eyes flared. “Don’t worry,” she said coldly, “after tonight, it won’t be a problem.”

Hilda glared at her and went to collect her costume for the bookshop.

Zelda nestled the babe in her arms carefully, and went out to wait for Sabrina in the family room.

“Ambrose, it’s time,” she said, passing him in the hallway. He sighed, did a 180, and followed her.

~~~

Sabrina returned an hour later, having finished her classes and done some studying in the academy library. Nicholas was becoming a fast friend, not only good for dreaming about (those eyes of his!) but also an excellent study partner, more than willing to show a less experienced student the ropes. They had already done some pretty neat magic together, and planned to do more.

“I’m home!” she called, closing the door behind her. She had not learned how to teleport yet, but that was all right; she enjoyed the walks through the woods.

“Sabrina,” a faint voice called from the family room. “Would you come here, please?”

Opening the door, she saw her aunt Zelda painted in fire light, holding a baby, with Ambrose lounging on the floor near the fire.

“Aunt Zelda?” she asked tentatively.

Her aunt looked up. “Hello Sabrina,” she said. “Meet the newest member of our family.”

“How…” Sabrina drew closer, looking at the baby. “Who is that?”

Zelda smiled down at the child, uncharacteristically soft. “Her name is Verity,” she said. Looking back up at Sabrina’s confusion, she explained. “Sabrina, when I was younger, I did a good deal of traveling in Europe. I was young, you see, ready to see the world… and while I was there, I met someone.” She looked back down at Verity, smiling faintly. “Her name was Cecilia.”

Sabrina sat down, looking at the baby, looking at the way Zelda was _holding_ the baby, unable to comprehend the picture before her.

“We became very close. We were practically sisters… we thought we’d be friends until the end of time. But alas,” and here Zelda’s voice broke, “that was not to be. Things… grew sour between us. Eventually, we stopped speaking. We haven’t spoken in twenty years. But now…” Zelda paused. “Cecilia died in childbirth. And her last wish was that I would be the one to raise her daughter.” She looked up at her niece, eyes wet. “She has no family. I can’t say no.” Blinking away her tears, she looked down at the sleeping child again, and lightly touched the babe’s foot. It twitched.

“Woah,” said Sabrina, still dizzy over seeing her aunt in this mood. “Oh wow, Auntie Zee, that’s… that’s going to really change things around here.”

“Yes, it will,” admitted Zelda. “But no more than you did, when you arrived.”

Sabrina looked down. She had always suspected, if not known, that having to take care of her was a task Zelda had not particularly relished. “Well, maybe I could help,” she offered.

Zelda’s face lit up. “Oh Sabrina. That would be wonderful, are you sure?”

Sabrina nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah. I mean, you two took care of me all those years ago, I might as well pay it forward.” She swallowed. “But you’re gonna have to teach me about… baby stuff. And all that.”

Zelda smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll teach you everything you need to know.”


End file.
